


The Tiger Sleeps

by Evangeline_Pearl



Series: Byakko: The White Tiger [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Hermione Granger, BAMF Ron Weasley, BAMF Wizards in General, Deliberate Age Manipulation, Dimension Travel, F/M, Feral Behavior, Harry Potter Leaves the Wizarding World, Harry Potter joins Konoha, Harry Potter starts a Clan, M/M, Magic as a Kekkai Genkai, Multi, Pack Dynamics, Past Underage Sex, Pregnant Harry Potter, Realm Hopping
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2018-12-14 13:54:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11784546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evangeline_Pearl/pseuds/Evangeline_Pearl
Summary: Sarutobi Hiruzen was old. He was weary. The sudden appearance of a clan requesting sanctuary leaves him wondering just when can he truly retire? A clan of nine, with many more to come, petitions for acceptance, but the threat of unknown dogs their heavy steps. Will their offered tributes really hold a candle to the potential danger they may be? Will suspicion prevent the good they could offer his village?Sarutobi does not have the answers, and he thinks no one would.





	1. The Tiger's Fangs

**Author's Note:**

> The Harry Potter characters change names to blend in better. (I've never understood the stories that had them not change names). As I am unlikely to explicitly name them in text anytime soon, I will list them as they are introduced at the end of every chapter. Keep in mind that keeping an eye on the descriptive clues may help remember who is who. Later, I may also include additional details as they are revealed in the story so they are kept in order.
> 
> Harry Potter Timeline has been scrambled, spat in a blender then poured straight down the drain. While major events have not changed, they may have been moved around and assume you know none of the details until further elaborated upon. Descriptions and even personalities might be a tad warped in places.
> 
> This story is a bit of a perspective experiment and a study into character development. It is a work in progress, and cross posted on fanfiction under the same name. I hope you enjoy the ride!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was old. He had been the first Hokage to survive his position and peacefully retire from the post. He remained still to be the only Hokage to do so. He had overseen the training of his successor and had relinquished the mantel for a new Konoha. He had survived the attack of the Kyuubi and the fall of his successor. He was old, he was  _weary_ , and he felt every bit his age as he stared down at the deceptively slim stack on his desk.

Surely it was the least amount of paperwork his desk had seen in nearly two decades, but it came with the quality of that many times its quantity.

He spun his chair to face the window behind him and stroked his salty beard in contemplation, his pipe half tipped from his lips. It was easy to accept the proposed request. Very easy, and that was what made it all the more suspicious.

The contract itself was simple.

And quite honestly? Too simple and too  _good_ to be realistic.

An orphaned clan (and just how many of  _those_ had he seen in his time?) requested residency and sanctuary in exchange for a multitude of gifts Konoha could never hope to repay. Konohagakure was a war powerhouse, that Sarutobi could say with tired pride and with the bone deep ache of having survived one war too many. It bred and bore shinobi that were unmatched by any other. Geniuses and prodigies cropped up everywhere in his village, and as proud of it as he was, he was also tired of sending children off to their death.

For its power, however, Konoha had its own struggles. War was not cheap, and Fire Country had seen far too many in rapid succession to be financially stable. Budget cuts were handed out like candy and the micromanagement was bordering on the ridiculous. Worse still, the last war had cost Konoha several of its brightest, including their Hokage and one of the best iryō-nin to ever come out of the villages. It had lost him, personally, three of his students, though all were still technically living.

Yet this clan, this  _one_ clan sought to change all that. From external medicines and what sounded like  _miracle cures!_ to a relative fortune, all as a show of good will. Should he accept, he would bring prosperity of a new kind to his village, and a new Kekkai Genkai.

How could he refuse?

Yet, how could he possibly accept?

They were the obvious solution to just about all their current tribulations. That fact almost made him curious to see what else they had to offer, to know just who the people behind this clan were.

However, what worried him most was that he had never heard of this group before.

They were powerful. Could very well tip the balance of power whichever way they swayed, but there had been not even a whisper of their existence before this letter. It took skill to write a contract so air tight and so deviously worded. It appeared to be almost entirely in Konoha's favor, except for the secrecy it awarded them.

People did not become strong in the Hidden Countries without being known, without their work recognized.

His curiosity was getting the better of him, this he knew, and so he also knew his judgement was already slightly impaired. Snapping his fingers to summon one of the ANBU from his office walls, he hummed pleasantly around his pipe and said, "Find Nara-hanchō and his associates." The use of his commander's occupational title rather than his lordship certainly spoke of his urgency on the matter. "Have them report to me at their next availability."

Which was a mighty mild way of saying: get their asses in my office  _yesterday_.

 

* * *

 

Konoha's Hokage did not have to wait long—he never did with this group, unlike  _someone_. Elsewhere, a certain silver haired Hound ANBU Captain trembled with the suppressed urge to sneeze. "Good afternoon, gentlemen," he greeted with a slow, dramatic turn of his chair to face the three imposing men that stood across from him. "I apologize for any inconvenience my summons may have caused for you." The three acknowledged and accepted the admission with a nod of their heads, and he went on, "Unfortunately, the matter at hand is urgent. I find myself in quite the dilemma. Take a look through this, and inform me of your thoughts."

He carefully spun the file on his desk and pushed it forward with just the tip of his gnarled index finger, watching their faces closely.

One would think he would go to the council for this, but he was already plenty aware of Danzo's opinion. The man would immediately insist upon assimilating the clan with such heavy stipulations, they may as well have imprisoned the entire group. No, he wanted a clean and just observation. And, he trusted these men.

All three men were heads of their clan and therefore understood Konoha's clan laws as well as he himself. They were war heroes of their own kind and each intimately understood another facet of their village security. All three were also incredibly intelligent in their own unique ways.

Nara Shikaku in the most traditional sort of intellect. His laidback persona hid the most brilliant mind in all of Fire Country, and his clan's disposition for laziness made the transition from sleepy clan head to sharp, serious commander all the more terrifying. He was so easily overlooked, so easily understated. But, the man knew himself well and his abilities even more. His skill with the Nara's shadow jutsu outdid every clan head of his family. Having only seen the man enraged once before, the day some fool had attempted to assassinate his toddler heir, Sarutobi knew the impassive stare in his commander's eyes was only one more facet to his personality.

For all that Yamanaka Inoichi had once raged at his companion's laziness, the blond was quite similar to his childhood friend and genin teammate. They both hid their darker, domineering personalities behind a persona-non-grata façade. He was externally equal parts kind, calm and soothing. The third Hokage had personally seen this man rip apart the mind of a traitor and regress yet another to a drooling, mindless mess. With scarcely more than his hands and the wickedness of his mind. Inoichi's eyes were always cold, a remnant of his career in Interrogation, but a flicker of curiosity broke the monotony of their blankness.

Akimichi Chouza was perhaps the simplest of his teammates. Where Shikaku was strategically brilliant, and Inoichi exceptional in the ways of the mind, Chouza was remarkably astute in all matters of the heart. He was the balance between his two companions and brothers in all but blood. Also the most discrete for all his massive size. He fought with a ferocity untold and protected his loved ones with that very same viciousness. It was easy to forgo him for his teammates, and most forgot that it was  _he_ that was the team's leader, but the quiet giant preferred it as such. It was much easier to protect those around him when no one thought to remember he was there.

Thus, Sarutobi knew that if this contract could elicit a positive assertion from these three men, he could give in to his curiosity. Seeing that they were taking the contract seriously as was appropriate, he turned back to his window and waited for the verdict they would return.

He did not have to wait long.

"Hokage-sama," the Nara said, "Who sent this request?"

"We do not know for sure," Sarutobi replied with a laugh and a shrug of his shoulders. "It was dropped off at the check in desk outside the front gate this morning."

Yamanaka observed, "Cautious then."

The Hokage hummed in agreement, "Rightfully so, wouldn't you think?" Tapping out his pipe, he placed it back in his mouth and took a deep inhale. "Yes, they are also quite brilliant." Pausing to exhale silver rings, he turned and raised a wizened eyebrow a them, "What do you say on this gamble?"

Shikaku ran his eyes over the contract once more then set it on the desk. His shoulders promptly rounded downward in a slouch as he lost the intensity that had gathered about him. "They wrote it well, and they offer enough to make up for both the permanency and the sanctuary."

"At first look," Inoichi said quietly, pale eyes thoughtful, "What is to say they are not on the run from a megalomaniac of which we have also not heard of?" And even more prepared impressively prepared, he carefully did not say. He tapped the papers with his index finger and the drum of his nail against wood echoed ominously, "We have never heard of them, and they are obviously on the run from  _something_ that knows them intimately well. How can we defend against a threat that we do not know?"

The Akimichi popped a chip in his mouth for the first time since entering the Hokage's office and decided to break up the conspiracy theories, "Why don't we propose a meeting with a representative? Judging their request without even meeting them seems a bit unfair." He crunched away another handful then added, "Considering they have seemingly no other option than to reach out to us or another hidden village, it ought to be the least we can do."

Looking from one to the next, Sarutobi cracked a smile, "Objections?"

When none were made, he pulled a scroll from his desk and a brush. Writing out their determination in formal calligraphy, he rolled it thrice and tied it off with a ribbon. Then, handing it to the men before him, he said, "I trust no other with this. Delivery is a task beneath you, but considering the circumstances, I cannot in good conscience send anyone else."

 

* * *

 

Two weeks later saw Sarutobi Hiruzen and his three chosen advisers in his office across from three very different individuals.

All three kept their hair long and tied back from their faces in a low, hanging tail. The question of it being a clan habit was considered. They were all roughly the same age, appearing to be in their mid-to-late twenties, but that was where the similarities ended.

Of the three, two were male and were near mirror reflections of each other. They were identical in frame, size and bulk, but where one was pale as day and blond, the other was dark as night and bore equally black hair. The two men had different shades of silver eyes, but neither looked any of the shinobi in the eye. Nor did they chose to sit, instead remaining on either side and behind the sole female among them.

The woman was tall for a woman and bore crimson—almost Uzumaki Red—hair. She had blue eyes and a kind, though wary, smile on her face. "It is a pleasure to meet you," her voice was deep as she offered the pleasantry, and she bowed elegantly before she sat in the chair offered to her. "My name is Byakko Ayane," she said then waved a hand to the dark male behind her followed by the blond, "and the gentlemen behind me are Byakko Mamoru, and my husband Ryuu."

Both men behind her bowed curtly, and Shikaku and Inoichi did the same.

She paused for the proceeding, then quickly got down to business. "Our clan name is Byakko, written with the character for 'Tiger'. However, you will only encounter this spelling on official paperwork," she nodded to the papers already on Sarutobi's side of the desk. "Otherwise, we spell it with the character for 'Fox'."

Inoichi, being the one to later have to deal with this, raised an eyebrow, "And why is that?"

"Names have power, Yamanaka-san," Ayane said graciously, sweeping her gaze to his, "Names have incredible power, and my clan knows this intimately well. A name can bind a person to their word, can force a man into doing something he does not wish to do. A name, alone, is enough to make an entire country quake in fear." Her eyes were dark with memories as she spoke, but it was obvious she had allowed that much into her countenance to show her honesty, as it too soon faded out. "My clan and I, we are intimately aware of what a name can be used for, and we take careful precautions."

All four shinobi, the visible ones, nodded in acceptance. The concept had never been considered before to their knowledge, and though they thought it odd, would not forsake the clan's comfort over a simple quirk of character.

She smiled at that and gathered a significant amount of papers from her satchel and set them atop the desk in front of her. She kept a hand on the stack as she lifted her face once more. "I was not certain what you would require to know, so I brought as much with me as the time and journey would allow. Though relatively small, our clan history is extensive, and intensive. Perhaps it would be swifter for me to answer any questions you have at this time and you read and process these papers at your leisure."

Sarutobi peered up at the two men stoically standing at her side and privately wondered at the strange imbalance in leadership. He held nothing against the kunoichi of his village, but women often did not take the profession seriously at the start and it prevented them from actively progressing through the program, most being bled back into civilian life or delegated to the Genin Corps. Seeing a woman actively speak in the place of two able-bodied, and from what he could tell, very intelligent men, was certainly an eye opener, but not one that stumped him for long. His female student was legendary with her fists, after all.

Then he agreed to her suggestion and crossed his hands idly before him on the desk. The gesture was as much of good will as it was of solidarity, one that was not missed on her by the way her smile lightened. "Let us begin with the basics then," he began, "How many members make up your clan and what are their skills?"

The Byakko representative sighed softly and shook her head in fond exasperation. "You have managed to ask one of the hardest questions first. Very well," she leaned back in her chair to collect her thoughts and began. "There are currently nine of us. Aside from myself and the two with me, there is my brother Byakko Hibiki and his wife Shiori. They are two thirds of our clan leadership, but both delegate to our clan head, Hitsuki-sama. Takeshi is our rune-master and the third of the Silver Triad. My husband and Mamoru make up the rest of it," she waved a hand at the two behind her. "The last two members of our clan are Tsukiko and Chigusa, our fauna and flora specialists, respectively."

She paused to let Shikaku ask the question she could tell he had, "Rune-master? What exactly does that entail?"

"Runes are," she struggled to find the word she was looking for, "our equivalent of seals? I assume to be the correct identification. He is proficient enough to be considered a fuinjutsu master in our runes."

Shikaku nodded and turned back to the papers she had surrendered, reading at a rate that reminded Ayane of her sister-in-law.

"Now, Hokage-sama," Ayane used Sarutobi's title for the first time, which all shinobi in the room noted, "You asked specifically for our skills. Can you please be more specific?"

"You have given a plenty sufficient overview," he said briefly, "Assuming there is a more detailed recount for the commander to view?" She nodded in reply, and he smiled. "Very well, moving on to your kekkai genkai."

Ayane straightened in her chair, her expression growing far more serious than she had been even at this start of this meeting. "Sir, this may sound unbelievable, as it is very difficult to put our kekkai genkai into words. But I ask you be patient and suspend any disbelief until we have been given the chance to prove our claims."

The four shinobi did not react outwardly but were paying keen attention as she continued on.

"Our Kekkai Genkai is in two parts, related but separate and capable of being inherited both in part and in whole." This had not exactly been proven, but was theoretically the case. "First off, we do not use chakra," this she said with absolute certainty, and it cued all the shinobi in the room to hone in on what they could sense of her coils. Shockingly to all involved, it was proven true, her coils were matured nicely but her reserves so small she barely bridged across the gap between academy student and genin. She chuckled as if she could read the surprise off their impassive faces. "We have matured coils and can use chakra internally, exceptionally in fact," she said this then provided it by pointedly drawing her chakra to her hands and causing a pen to stick against the tip of a finger, then to spin in a slow circle above it.

"However, we cannot expel chakra from our bodies," she visibly tried and there was no result, the pen only falling back to the desk. "Neither of our Kekkai Genkais is chakra based."

She flicked her finger at the air and the pen began to levitate off the table. "Our first bloodline is the existence and utilization of a secondary network of spiritual energy." The pen hovered a good two heads in the air, and none of the shinobi could feel an ounce of chakra being pressed through her tenketsu. "This bloodline allows us to bend reality," she said slowly and carefully as she watched the shinobi weigh her words.

"The existence of a bloodline without chakra is highly improbable," the Nara head said first, staring down at the slender woman. "Simply not using chakra does not institute a chakra-less bloodline."

"No, of course not," Ayane agreed pleasantly and turned her face towards her husband, "Ryuu, something easy perhaps?"

The blond stepped forward and took the pen from where it still hovered before them. Lifting it to his face, he nodded and dropped it into his other palm. Tracing the tip of a finger over it, the pen twisted, shimmered then was suddenly a crystal rose, thorns and all. He set the crystal flower on the desk and bowed back to his former position.

Sarutobi reached across the table and lifted the crystal transfiguration. It was light, weighed a touch more than the pen it had been, and when he pressed a finger to one of the thorns, a pearl of blood pooled on it. Raising both eyebrows, he set the rose back on the desk and said, "There is no jutsu capable of that."

Ayane nodded, "It isn't one." She tapped her finger on the rose's petals and it morphed back to its original state as a pen. At its side was a smudge of blood, which Sarutobi knew would be his own. "Where chakra is the base of your jutsu, we use the 100% concentration of spiritual energy in our secondary networks to create a form of energy we call mahō to preform majutsu."

The darker half of the men laid a hand on her shoulder, and she nodded. "We cannot disclose more unless you sign this secrecy contract, and agree tentatively to continue proceedings." Sliding a paper across the table to the Hokage's side, she said, "Earlier we said names have power." She looked up to meet Sarutobi's eyes, "Our mahō will tie us both to the words of this contract. It draws upon the spiritual connection we assign to our names and it binds our physical body to obey it."

Conflicted, though now tremendously curious, Sarutobi took the contract which was less than a paragraph long and required nothing more than that the words spoken in his office today, since the Byakko envoy had entered until they left, was not to be repeated outside it by anyone, unless everyone involved unanimously agreed to dissolve the contract. He signed with a flourish, but his eyes went wide at the sudden sensation of something settling around his heart. He raised a hand to stop his ANBU from taking their heads, though neither men's expression had changed, and Ayane appeared to be as content as she had been since arriving. "What was that?"

Ayane tilted her head to the side, "I did say it would bind us to our word. It just did. Should you, or any of your subordinates, or I, or either of my two clansmen, attempt to speak of anything spoken in this office between us, you will simply find yourself unable to verbalize it." Without preamble, she laid out another file and handed it to the commander behind him, "A profile of all our members and the fields they are most compatible with. I gave you a rudimentary sheet on our basic skillset earlier. This is complete."

After only a few moments of viewing the files, Nara Shikaku cleared his throat in disbelief, "There seems to be a mistake here. You have your clan head listed as male, yet his medical file indicates a pregnancy."

"I assure you, that is no mistake," she said, smiling all the while, "Our clan head is very much male, and he is very much pregnant. With twins." She said the latter with great delight. "We are fairly infertile," she said, her expression growing slightly withdrawn, "Chances of conceiving a child is rare among us. However, even the males in our line are capable of conceiving and carrying a child to full term. The window is often less frequent than with the women, but are much more likely to result in multiple births. A full medical file and examination can be requested if our terms are agreed upon."

"You expect us to believe that a man can become pregnant," the Nara asked impassibly, and most carefully without infliction. Then proceeded to watch all three before him suddenly become hostile.

Pupils grew long vertically, and all three Byakko's eyeteeth dropped in length. "You will not call us liars, Nara," the darker male, who had yet to even move thus far, declared as he surged forward. It was only Ayane's hand against his stomach that stopped him from progressing an inch beyond her seat. "We are many, many things," he continued without even noticing her action, "but when it boils down to it, being a liar is not one of them. Bend the truth we might, twist the circumstances to suit us we might, but you will not insinuation we are liars."

"Mamoru," Ayane growled, the sound husky and deep, rabid and wild, from her mouth. And she thrust him backward easily, "Stand down." The aggrieved man snarled back at her, teeth and fangs in every inch of his expression, then he snorted and all those traits reigned back in, and he was once more fully human and docile before them.

Ayane turned her head towards the Shinobi, her pupils still pinched and her fingers clawed as she set her hands on the desk. "We have had quite the trouble with being disbelieved. It has left a lasting mark upon us," the grief all three felt poured from them in waves and near suffocated the sensor in Sarutobi's rafters. "Our first Kekkai Genkai is more than capable of bending even the reality of our physical bodies." She then stood and her hair swayed out to either side of her like the swish of a cat's tail, "However, it is our second bloodline that gives us these. . . additional features," she waved a hand vaguely at her face.


	2. The Tiger's Allegiance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamanaka Inoichi was still not quite sure what to think of the Byakko's. They were exotic, dynamic and bordering on feral. They did not move or walk like shinobi, yet they made no sound. They did not run the treetops, but managed to keep a brutal pace that was distinctly shinobi speed. Worse still, he had held a private interview with all three, and he still felt he had more questions than answers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the ride!

Harry—no,  _Hitsuki_ was still adjusting to his new name. It was far easier for him than the others. He had had many monikers in his short life. As a child, he was  _Boy_ ,  _Freak_ , then he was  _Harry_ and suddenly  _Harry Potter_. Then he was the  _Boy-Who-Lived_ and the  _Chosen One_. Adjusting to a new name was therefore the least of his worries. Petting his hands over his protruding stomach, he let his magic,  _mahō_ he had to remind himself, swell and billow around him in hopes that it would keep his unborn babies calm despite his emotional state. Hormones had taught him that trick early on. That it helped him calm as well was of little to no consequence.

He could feel the fetuses moving restlessly within his body, their tiny hands and feet causing his flesh to ripple outward, and he sighed. They were cutting it close, real close.

Lifting his gaze, Hitsuki turned his face to the people around him, his new  _chosen_ family, and was overwhelmed with protective love, only to be nearly brought to tears as the same was projected back at him across their new bonds. It was still nerve wracking to think about what exactly had brought them here, but he could not keep the swell of hope from building in his chest.

Still, he did not like having his family separated. And with Ginny— _no! Ayane_ , his mind automatically corrected itself, and  _Ryuu_ and  _Mamoru_ away, he and the others were feeling more than incomplete. Having a third of them gone was startlingly wrong. They had been together for months on end, on the run, then the hop, and they were still wired with the instinct to  _survive_.

And he, well, he could not protect his family if they were not with him.

In all honesty, he could not protect them at all in this state. He could not begrudge the babies in his belly, for they were quickly becoming everything he and his family lived for. They were the shining beacon of light in the dark, the answer to a prayer that maybe their journey would soon come to its end.

"H- _itsuki_ ," he could hear the hitch in  _Shiori's_ voice as she approached him. Her hair, which had once been wild and curly, now lay in long waves to her waist, tied back with a low hanging tie. Her warm eyes, hazel now instead of brown, smiled at him as she settled in at his side, resting one hand on his back, "They will be fine.  _We_ will be fine."

He struggled to wrestle his mahō back into the confines of his core. It had come to rather like the freedom of the Elemental Countries. It could sweep out as far as it liked without risking an explosion, and the air was unpolluted and heavy with the energy of this world. Smiling akwwardly back at her, he rested both hands on his distended stomach again and sighed, "Maybe I should have gone with them. I, they were going to tell them about me anyway, right? And well, I'm a pregnant  _man_ , Mione, people aren't going to believe that off the top of their heads."

"Shiori," she corrected gently but dropped her hand to around his waist and pulled him in to rest his head on her shoulder. "Relax. You know R-Ryuu is ruthless as he is protective, and Mamoru would never let anything happen to either of them. Ayane knows what she is doing, they all do. We sent them for a reason, Hitsuki."

It had been a practice of patience to constantly use their new names, so they could grow used to them faster, but it was working. Even just months later, the slight hitch in their voices at the new names seemed to be fading as they each came to accept the shift.

"I know, I know," he said softly, burrowing his way into her side, his nose pressed against her throat to scent her, "I cannot help but worry though. We've not been apart this long in a while."

Shiori looked up to find her husband settling down on Hitsuki's other side, and she smiled. His fire red hair blew outward like a shroud of smoke as he sat, and he had yet to pull it back. She had the feeling she would be wrestling it into a hair tie later. Instead, she shifted focuses and nudged her head down at the man half in her lap.

Hibiki nodded knowingly and rested a large hand on Histuki's shoulder. "Now, come on. We all know my sister's the only one aside from you that can manhandle those Slytherins into behaving. She's practically a snake charmer at this point!"

"True," Hitsuki could not have stopped himself from laughing if he had tried. 

"And she's pigheaded enough to not come back until she's cajoled the Hokage into letting us stay," he waggled his brows teasingly at him, "And that's not even touching on  _Ryuu's_ wicked ways. He could probably talk circles around anyone and they wouldn't even notice they were being led around by the nose. If he got his head out of his arse, maybe." He added the last bit with narrowed eyes, considering.

"That's Mamoru, I think," Hitsuki said on a giggle, "Ryuu's more likely to try strong arming his way in. Kind of like he did with us."

Hibiki grumbled, "Yeah yeah. But all Slytherins are known for having silver tongues." He poked Hitsuki in the side, delighted to get a kick in response, "So how are the brats?"

"Now they're going to play beat-the-bludger with my bladder," Hitsuki glared fondly at his brother in all but blood.

* * *

Inoichi was still not quite sure what to think of the Byakko's. Exotic in appearance, dynamic, and bordering on feral, they were exceptionally odd. They did not walk like shinobi, yet they made no sound. Nor did they run the treetops like their escorts, but still managed to keep a brutal pace that was distinctly shinobi speed. They kept to the forest floor, and it was obvious they were used to uneven terrain and turning at top speed.

He had held a private interview with each of them, and even now, he still felt he had more questions than answers.

The blond, Ryuu, in some ways would have fit rather well into his own family. He was cold, bordering on apathetic, towards everyone that did not hold his interest or respect. His tongue was acerbic at the best of times, but he was very observant. The man had picked up on Inoichi's own team dynamic within seconds, and had point blank laid it out for him barely seconds into their interview. He would have made a formidable Yamanaka, but he was touched by a feral spirit. He was eager to pick a fight and even held himself aggressively, especially once negotiations were over. He had near threatened the Hokage in an airtight office filled with armed shinobi less than five hours previous, yet nothing seemed to phase him. Even his confrontational dialogue was strangely impassive.

At first glance, the brunette seemed as though he could not care less about the goings on around him. He was silent, he barely moved, and he almost never spoke. He was much like Chouza that way, yet Inoichi could see hints of Shikaku in his eyes. He saw far more than even Inoichi could presume. Ironically, his interview had been the most confusing. Byakko Mamoru had answered all the questions asked to him in one or two words. Yet, he had chosen to answer a handful of questions no one had verbalized, and those he was almost teasing in his wordage. He was a guardian, much like his name implied. He would go so far even to protect his family from verbal slights. But he was something more, Inoichi still could not quite put a mark on it, but the other two turned to him for behavior cues.

Ayane was a whole other matter. She had fire, so much fire. Much like another redheaded woman he once knew. She was fiercely protective of her family and had a temper that was both quick to flare as it was quick to fade. Her eyes held a particular shine to them that made him wary, reminded him far too much of Anko on a bad day, but she stood with pride and led her boys with absolute confidence they would listen. Inoichi doubted anyone could coral the two men quite like she could. They didn't exactly cower before her, but they had a healthy dose of respect for her ability.

Somehow, Inoichi could see the team they could have been if they had been raised shinobi. With Ayane taking up leadership, Mamoru the defense, and Ryuu on the offensive. They played on each other's weaknesses and strengths naturally, and their specialties meshed well. If this was the group the Byakko's had sent as an envoy, Inoichi almost did not want to see what they would have sent as a hostile party.

Bringing his entire attention back to the path they were taking, Inoichi realized they were headed towards Uzushio and that struck his heart cold. They could not have been. . .

They quickly approached the border of forest and beach, then water. And Inoichi had expected their guests to veer towards town for a boat, but they just kept  _going_. It was as though nothing changed from forest undergrowth to sand to water. Their feet did not slip, or sink, or even cause a splash as they again bolted onward without hesitation.

Inoichi exchanged glances with Shikaku from the corner of his eye. He still could not feel an ounce of chakra shifting within them, and that only begged to question _how_. Civilians, quite distinctly, could  _not_ water-walk. He could chalk up the rest to being enhanced internally, maybe a solid illusion or two, but water walking without chakra, that was impossible. It would probably take all of Konoha's shinobi forces a long time before any of them could wrap their heads around a chakra-less bloodline. Especially one like theirs.

Either way, he had to amend his previous thought on their destination soon after. They were not heading for the fallen Uzushio, but rather a smaller island just south of it. It was delicate and mostly wild plants having taken over what used to be an outpost.

The three Byakko seemed to pick up speed the closer they got, and Inoichi could only assume it was like returning to Konoha after a mission. The relief of being  _almost there_ almost unbearable.

And they all, shinobi and Byakko alike, burst through an illusion barrier at full speed—one the shinobi had not sensed and one the Byakko had ignored, then having to come to a sudden halt. The Byakko skid across the ground, but left no tracks in the dirt, and it was only then that Inoichi noticed they had not been touching the ground all along. They were actually floating half an inch or so above it.

However, before he could even comprehend fully what he was seeing, they dropped to the floor right before his eyes and continued towards a small house. There were two men outside, both lighter brunettes than Mamoru and were paler skinned. Both had their hair pulled back in what was becoming the Byakko signature style, and they appeared quite focused on a plant that was  _crawling up_ the shorter man's legs at a rapid rate. Neither looked up at their arrival, but the taller of the two briefly waved in their direction. Then he carefully tapped the plant in three places and the wood retreated back.

That. . . looked a lot like mokuton. Inoichi had to concede. It was no jutsu of any kind he could see or sense, but it was wood manipulation at its finest.

Ryuu bolted forward, clamping a hand on the taller man's shoulder, "Hitsuki?"

"Restless," the smaller of the brunettes said, and Ryuu vanished into the house without another word. Both brunettes rolled their eyes in exasperation and turned to look at the new arrivals.

Mamoru rolled his shoulders, then they were slopping easily downward in a slouch and he meandered forward at a lazy walk. "We could feel it three miles out," he said, cracking his neck to the side with an ominous creak.

The tallest brunette nodded, then said in a quiet, almost inaudible, voice, "First time we've been split up in a while."

Inoichi committed the exchange to memory, and Ayane cleared her throat, cocking a brow, "We were gone maybe nine hours. It was not that long."

"You know Hitsuki," the other one said, "He's still mad we didn't let him go."

Ayane nodded and waved the three escorts forward, "I'll introduce everyone once we are inside." She offered the shinobi a small smile and said formally, "Be welcome, come with me."

* * *

The house opened into a large sitting room which was mostly cushions and soft blankets. It opened to one side into a kitchen, and directly ahead into a hallway that lead to several doors. One wall of the room was all sliding doors and were wide open to a comfortable sitting area outside as well. 

Ryuu was hugging a black haired individual framed on either side by a brunette woman on one side and a redhead, as bright as Ayane's hair, on the other. The redhead was Hibiki, then, Ayane's brother. He appeared to be roughly the same height as Ryuu and Mamoru, though he had a much broader build. He had freckles dotting his nose and cheeks, and his face was rather open, unlike his sisters. He watched the three shinobi in his home with wary eyes, the corner of his mouth pinched downward.

The woman opposite him was to be his wife, Shiori. The description fit her to a T. She had incredibly wise eyes, bright as she stared at him, and owlish in their persistent patience, waiting almost. Then their intensity passed and she smiled, pushing at Ryuu's shoulders, "Get up. You'll crush him."

Ryuu growled at her, the vibration ominous but benign, and he relinquished his hold to stand.

The brunette and redhead rolled their eyes and stood as well, bending low to assist the third person to a stand.

Ayane clapped her hands to get everyone's attention and smiled. "I am Ayane, as you know. Ryuu is my husband and Mamoru is his chosen brother. Hibiki," she motioned to the only other redhead they had seen that day, "is quite obviously my brother, and his wife Shiori." She extended a hand in the direction of the men they had met just minutes earlier and said, "The taller brunette there is Chigusa, and he is our flora specialist. Beside him is Takeshi, our rune-master."

A blond woman appeared in the doorway, and she turned distant blue eyes on the three shinobi, "Oh, hello."

"This here is Tsukiko," Ayane said, beckoning the littlest woman over to her, and she carefully extracted the squirrel in the blond's hands, "She has a way with animals, and not all of them are quite as friendly to others as they are to her."

Tsukiko curtsied, though she was not wearing a dress, and bounced over to the last individual to be introduced.

The one that had to be Byakko Hitsuki, the leader of this clan. He was short, nearly a head shorter than Shiori, and almost delicate in his slenderness. Even with his stomach swollen with obvious pregnancy, he appeared proportionally slender. His hair was longer than the others but pulled back in just the same, pooling at his ankles instead of his mid back. But his eyes were a poisonous green as he looked at them. "My name is Hitsuki," he said, smiling, "and it is a pleasure to meet you."

Chouza stepped forward, tipping forward in a bow, "I am Akimichi Chouza."

"Yamanaka Inoichi," his blond teammate said once he had straightened from a bow of his own.

Shikaku eyed them all a moment longer than bowed shortly, "Nara Shikaku."

Hitsuki took a step forward, and so did the blond woman attached to his side. He seemed to not mind her in the least, and simply adjusted his movements for her presence. "Others of our clan were left behind, but they are determined and they will find their way to us with time." His eyes were dark as he added in a lowered tone, "The Byakko never remain apart for long." They lightened again once he smiled, their focus shifting from one shinobi to the next. "You have won our allegiance today, perhaps soon its loyalty will follow."

* * *

The Byakko clan did not much look alike, unlike the other clans of Konoha. Other than the length and style of their hair, the sharpness of their jawline and cheekbones, and the general pallor of their skin, they would not have been associated to the same family at all. Where Ayane and Hibiki could easily blend into what was once known to be Uzumaki, Ryuu could have easily been a Yamanaka, Shiori a Nara, Tsukiko a Hyuuga if not for her hair, Chigusa an Akimichi, and Takeshi an Uchiha. Even their feral dynamic could have also marked them all for the Inuzuka.

Overall, they shared few characteristics, aside from the intense loyalty they had to each other and Hitsuki in specific. They each had a strong, solid personality that was unique to themselves, yet they were oddly muted when all together in the same room. The same fire the shinobi had seen flare up in Byakko Ayane seemed to  _settle_ in the presence of her clan head. The brusque, impolite bite to Ryuu's voice and posture all but vanished in his vicinity. None of it gone, not dulled any, but  _relaxed_ , at ease.

The others were much the same, a quiet bunch, but only before the real enigma—Byakko Hitsuki.

He was of a silent strength, and they did not have to see the man on a battlefield to know he could more than hold his own. The way he walked, his center of balance just slightly lower than the average, and the way his eyes seemed ever present and ever knowing—they could make no move in this domain of theirs without him knowing it. It all pointed to his intimate familiarity with being on the warpath, and all it entailed.

The man pushed a curl of hair behind an ear and whistled.

As if pushed into action, the others quickly followed suit. The result was melodic, harmonious, but gave the feeling that something was still missing—the rest of the family was not there to complete it.

One by one, pure white felines emerged from the tree line. They appeared to be tigers, but were far smaller than the ones the shinobi were used to, and were relatively incorporeal, almost appearing to be made of white smoke, hovering half-in and half-out of nothingness. With them came the phenomenon of calm and peace washing over the house, yet also a fierce desire to protect.

By the time all of them were out in the open, each Byakko had a feline companion and the clan head had  _three_ circling his legs.

The nature of their second kekkai genkai suddenly made sense to Shikaku, who had been most intrigued by their initial explanation.

_"We are Byakko," Ayane had paused then, more for their benefit than for her or her companions. "Our ability to manipulate our first kekkai genkai grows, manifests, and morphs into our second. At a certain age, we begin to manifest an entity outside of us that is both separate but part of ourselves."_

_"It is sentient," she warned, "but not cemented in the physical world. It can affect the mind just as easily as the body. However, it changes us. It makes us stronger, something more than human, something wilder and different."_

_She had accented this point by lifting her clawed hands, and between the blink of an eye, her pupils were suddenly drawn into slits. The predatory shroud about her shoulders was also unmistakable. The two men behind her tilted their heads to the side in unconscious habit, and they too grew fangs, claws and the vertical pupils._

_"We are Byakko," she repeated, "it is part of us."_

They had not chosen their name, Shikaku thought, they couldn't have. His dark eyes cast over each member in front of him and he came to another realization. Whether or not they were blood related, it was unmistakable that they all had the same bloodline, and it was obvious that they followed Byakko Hitsuki out of choice.

Each one of them had recognized him as stronger than them. He was their alpha male, much like Inuzuka Tsume was to her clan. Their wild instincts may have not been their choice, and it had guided the structure of their hierarchy, but it had still been their choice to follow the green-eyed elfin soldier.

All the tigers reflected their counterparts. Shiori's was leaner than the others, built for stamina rather than strength or speed, and had wise, all-seeing eyes. Her husband's was easily one of the largest, alongside Mamoru's, and they were closely followed by Chigusa's. Tsukiko's was the slimmest, but agile in ways none of the others could be. And the clan head had a well-rounded group of three at his feet. They were somewhere between Shiori's and her husband's in size, but their musculature easily exceeded all three of the larger tigers. They were both strong and fast, but touched with wisdom and agility. If Shikaku had to say, he would think the three cats to be brothers that led the others.

Hitsuki was ethereal with three of the majestic beasts coiling about his legs, and he gently ran his hands over each. Taking their fill, the three then carefully stepped aside, and the dark haired leader rolled back on his feet. Rising up to his full height, gone was his almost playful aura, and in its place was the irrefutable presence of a charismatic leader. "Everyone ready?" he asked, his voice stronger and much firmer now as he looked over his clan.

At the various nods he received in response, he picked up his mass of hair and did some complicated twist around his wrist, one that even Inoichi's eyes could not follow, and it folded upward into a tail similar to his clanmates. All of which now seemed to mimic the long, slender tails of their animal counterparts. "Then we draw on the first stage alone," he said while eyeing the female blond, eyebrow quirked slightly.

Tsukiko giggled, then let him go, and twirled in her spot, nodding distantly.

The entire Byakko clan turned to the three shinobi, and they were wilder now. All nine's eyes were wider, their pupils slit, and their eyeteeth had dropped into their mouth, the tips falling over their lips. The claws were longer, and there was a hair raising predatory chill in the subtle curve of their necks.

They had fought war—multiple in fact. There was not much that could make the Shika-Ino-Chou trio feel fear, but it was not really fear that they felt then either. It was rather a healthy dose of respect for this clan's sheer  _strength_. They were small in number, but something told the shinobi that even all of Konoha could not have stopped these  _nine_  if they had chosen to strong arm their way in instead.

"Very well," Byakko Hitsuki said around a mouth full of sharp teeth, "Lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byakko: Can be written as both "White Tiger" and "White Fox".  
> Harry Potter - Hitsuki ("Arson"), Clan Head  
> Hermione Granger - Shiori ("Poetry")  
> Ron Weasley - Hibiki ("Echo")  
> Luna Lovegood - Tsukiko ("Moon Child")  
> Neville Longbottom - Chigusa ("Thousand Grass")  
> Ginevra Weasley - Ayane ("Color / Sound")  
> Theodore Nott - Takeshi ("Military / Warrior")  
> Draco Malfoy - Ryuu ("Dragon")  
> Blaise Zabini - Mamoru ("Protect")


	3. The Tiger's Pride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the ride!

The first meeting between Byakko and shinobi had shaken the very core of everything shinobi knew about chakra . Sarutobi and his closest were still reeling, but he had wiped all expectation from his mind. There was nothing that could walk through those doors that could stun him now.

As the time drew near, Sarutobi tapped the ashes from his pipe and set the instrument to one side. Taking the hat from his head, he ran a hand through his wiry hair and placed the hat back on his head. 

The door opened, then, and one of his guards stepped halfway into view. "The Byakko have arrived."

"Let them in," he commanded, curling his hands together in his lap. Things were about to get interesting, this he knew.

He was not sure if it had something to do with clan politics or not, but Byakko Ayane was the first to enter. She paused in the doorway and cast sharp, bright eyes across his entire office. Her pupils were already pulled tight into slits, and the rest of her face was hidden by a cloth mask. Her vibrant red hair was pulled back into a tail again, but this time, not a single strand was free. It was even further wrapped in white bandages from the first tie to another at the end.

There were eight short-swords strapped across her back, and they, too, were pure white with icy blue hilts. The rest of her outfit reflected the same color scheme. She wore leggings and a turtleneck of sheer fabric in white. Her shoes were closed-toed and reached her knees, but they did not appear to hamper her ability to move, and they were also white. The protective plate across her chest and forearms, however, were a cold shade of blue. She also had three holsters strapped to her thigh and two utility belts around her waist in the same color.

She stood there like a vengeful angel for a moment, her hair whipping from side to side behind her. Her hair and presence was so similar to another redhead they all knew that Sarutobi could not help but catalog her features to memory.

Then she bent at the waist in a bow and glided across the floor with cat-like grace. The entire while, her posture was silent, and once she found a position, her presence pulled inward like it was being sucked into a vortex. It was perplexing how little the striking white of her uniform prevented her from blending into the walls of his office.

Even though Sarutobi had only met with her and her initial companions for a short while, he could already tell this sort of behavior was unusual for her. It was cold in its detachment, her entire demeanor distant. The day they had met, she had been warm, even if she had been a bit expressionless. It was as though sunlight had poured into his office and found itself at home in her soul. Now, that warmth was entirely gone, wiped completely away.

Mamoru appeared in the doorway next, though the only way Sarutobi could recognize him was the measurements of his shoulders and height. He wore a closed cloak around his shoulders with a hood pulled up to cover his entire head and face from view. Somehow, the tail his hair made was freely passing through the fabric hood as though it was not there. 

He had the largest sword they had ever seen hefted on his back with no apparent holster to keep it there. It was nearly as broad as his own torso and, with its hilt placed behind his head, it stretched below his knees. How he could move with the weight, much less wield the thing, was something Sarutobi had to see soon.

The silent giant that was Mamoru did not bow, but he inclined his head as he stepped through the doorway, and he fell into place at Ayane's right.

Behind him, came Ryuu. He was dressed similarly to his wife. But rather than a mask covering his face, it was a silver scarf that wrapped over his mouth and nose twice, then trailed behind him. He had a whip attached to his belt at one hip, and there was a lethal looking spear strapped across his back. Two of his holsters were blue like Ayane's but the third was the same silver as his scarf.

He moved slowly, like a large, lethargic feline strolling lazily into his office. Three steps in, he turned grey eyes to Sarutobi, though did not meet the Hokage's eyes, and dipped his head into a regal nod. From there, he surged forward to fill the area to Ayane's left.

After him came a slender man. He was shorter than Ryuu and Mamoru, and of a stature that almost seemed delicate next to the three imposing individuals already in Sarutobi's office. He had dark brown hair wrapped in the same white bandage as they, and he had no visible weapons on him. His arm guards were seemingly made of paper, however, and he wore white gloves with black clawed tips on each finger. They were not sharp enough to cut, but then again, if this was the rune-master, they were probably more dangerous than any other weapon he could have carried.

With his entrance, came the faint smell of dawn. Fog and early morning rain seemed to be intimately connected to his scent. His eyes were closed, and he bowed towards Sarutobi then walked to stand beside the others without a single falter.

The one to pass through the doors next was as taller than all the others, and he carried twin double sided battle axes on his back. He wore a vest instead of the chest plate of his clansmen, and instead of arm guards, there were vines wound around his arms and legs. The vines trembled before Sarutobi's very eyes, and surged upward, disappearing into his sleeves as he came to stand on Ryuu's other side.

He could be no other than Chigusa, and Sarutobi was slowly beginning to see what Ayane had meant all those days ago when she claimed names held power. And as he inspected the Byakko members, he came to realize this was their battle formation, and they wore their armor.

White was a color all shinobi had forsaken. It stood out and did not blend into anything, and getting blood out of white was practically impossible. Black blended into shadows, and green blended into the background. Seeing  _battle_ gear in white was nearly as surprising as these individuals. They were each so very different, but so collected in their solidarity.

Sarutobi's musings were unfortunately interrupted by another woman coming into view at the door.

Her features were delicate, unlike Ayane's, and her blond hair was not sealed in bandages. Rather it was sectioned into bead-like bubbles with tiny chains. Her face was hidden with a nearly opaque veil and she carried an elaborate fan in each hand. There was a black cat wrapped around her neck and its eyes were closed in contentment. It was so relaxed, it even began to purr as she swept inside. When she bowed to Hiruzen, the cat opened one blue eye and yawned, settling back down as his purr began to rumble even louder.

Once she took her place beside the others, all six Byakko turned their faces to the door and tilted their heads to the left. The gesture was as instinctual as it was one of respect. Baring one's throat was not an easy feat, but they did this now in show of good will and faith. Sarutobi turned his eyes to the door.

The next two to enter came together. They were a male and female pair, the former of which had to be related to Ayane. The eyes and the hair were far too distinct. He had electric blue markings etched elaborately around his eyes and stretching up into his hairline and down under the edges of his mask.

At his side, the woman had a cloak around her shoulders and a silver book with a black spine on her back. She only had one holster on her leg, and she carried nothing else. Not even the protective gear that appeared to be their standard. Blue markings, like her companion's, stretched up from beneath her mask but curved to frame her eyes and bloomed in the center of her forehead.

Neither of the two looked towards their clan members. Instead, they bowed toward the Hokage and stood on either side of the only chair in the room aside from Sarutobi's. They lowered their gaze to the floor and tilted their head to the side, tension and patience filling the air.

Long before the clan head appeared in the door, the very temperature in the air seemed to fall as the air grew oppressively thick with presence.

There was first a swish of a cloak, then the snap of a foot into view and an arm. Then finally his head. He was shorter than all the others, and he wore the standard outfit, yet managed to carry it far differently. His hair coiled around his feet like a bewitched serpent, and there was a single staff on his back, longer than he was tall.

He smiled at the office's occupants, even through his cloth mask, the expression was one of delight. Then he bowed and took his seat across from Sarutobi.

"Hokage-sama," he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you at last."

* * *

Later, towards the end of their final negotiations, Byakko Hitsuki paused in mid-sentence and turned to glance at his clan members. They were tense, shoulders drawn up tight, though it did not show on their faces. "May we call forth our other halves?" the Byakko clan head requested with a plaintive smile, "They wish to also map the boundaries of our new home."

Curious, Sarutobi raised his eyebrows, "They won't cause any harm?" Hitsuki shook his head, so he allowed his curiosity to win, "Very well."

Hitsuki turned his head to the side and dipped it in a nod.

The Byakkos' feet became shrouded in a ghost like mist, pooling and swirling up in rippling coils. The mist swelled high, to their waist, then twisted into shape until one by one, a shadowy white tiger was poised at their sides. The emotions that filled the room at their arrival were strong enough Sarutobi did not have to be a sensor to feel them. There was a bone deep longing, hope, pride, desire, and the overwhelming desire to  _protectprotectprotect_.

Byakko's clan head extended his hand and the eleven tigers turned flashing white eyes to him. They inched forward to circle around Hitsuki, giving them all the shinobi a chance to study them. Then Hitsuki clicked his tongue against his teeth, and the felines leaped for the wall.

Like they were made of air, they phased through the concrete and bounded out over Konohagakure on light, energetic steps.

The Byakko left behind all sagged for a moment, as though a weight had been removed from their shoulders, then they returned to ready position. 

Hitsuki turned back to face the Hokage once more and carefully reached his hands up to the cloth mask hiding his face. Slipping the tips of his fingers under the edge, he carefully pulled it down to rest under his chin. He, too, had electric blue markings etched into his skin. Only his appeared to begin well under his shirt collar, and swirled up to his cheekbones before dipping into the hairline by his ears, leaving the upper half of his face free of them.

"Be at ease," he said seemingly to no one, but the others slowly began to remove their own facial coverings.

Each Byakko had their own stripes in electric jagged lines. They were tiger stripes, and no two were alike—where some had swirling waves, others were rocky and sharp. And with the unmasking, their presence was once more vibrant and loud.

Ayane's sun-like warmth radiated out from her, and Mamoru stood as tall and imposing as a mountain cliff. Ryuu was cold but thick. The rune-master felt like fog and the heaviness of ink. The one with the variant of mokuton was crisp and clean like fresh air at the tree top. The blond girl was all air and domesticated cat. The girl with the book felt like a library and the zing of electricity in the air after a storm. Ayane's brother was turbulent and wild like lightning chakra.

The myriad that came off them, however, was quickly enveloped into Hitsuki's and merged seamlessly into one gentle storm rolling over an oceans.

"Hokage-sama," Hitsuki said, drawing Sarutobi's focus back to his evergreen eyes, "I would like to gift your village a school."

"A school?" Sarutobi questioned, eyebrow raised.

The clan head dipped his head in a nod. "First, I would like to clear up a misunderstanding about majutsu. Shiori?" He turned his face up towards the brunette woman at his side.

"Hai, Histuki-sama," Shiori spoke for the first time and turned owlish eyes on the hokage. "Hokage-sama, mahō is made entirely of pure spiritual energy. Our networks are specially designed to take in excess spiritual energy and mold it into this new energy. However, chakra is physical and spiritual energy bound together within the chakra reserves."

She paused, watching everything catch up in Sarutobi's eyes, and smiled, "In theory, your shinobi should be able to learn and use certain majutsu."

Sarutobi had to lay his hands flat on the table and stand up at that. "Are you saying your genkai kekkai isn't a bloodline?"

"No," Hitsuki said sharply, rising to a stand himself. "Our family and those of this clan will be the only ones capable of using mahō to its fullest. We are simply saying that there are certain techniques that are hiden instead of fundamentally part of our bloodline."

"I see," the leader of Konohagakure's forces said carefully, studying the waif of a man before him. "And why a school?"

Hitsuki's firm expression gave way to another smile, "Because majutsu has many branches. There are some we cannot teach, but the ones we can, we are more than willing to pass on to anyone who cares to learn. However, we can only teach these techniques to genin or higher. Preferably chūnin. Putting a genin's coils under the stress it takes to separate chakra back into spiritual and physical energy is taxing would be. . . inadvisable."

Sarutobi sank back into his chair, and Hitsuki gracefully slipped back into his own. However, before the Hokage could speak, Hitsuki lifted a hand.

"Tigers live in prides," he said, smile gentle, "and they are prideful creatures. Our pride," he lifted a hand to gesture towards his clan members and himself, "Our pride lies protection. It is our honor and our strongest desire. But our protection can only reach as far as our hands can stretch. That is why we gift you our knowledge. Because, this knowledge can help serve to protect you and yours far beyond what our physical bodies may reach."

He paused to look out the window, "This village is beautiful. Allow us the chance to make it part of our Pride."

And, well, Sarutobi had no words with which to answer that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byakko: Can be written as both "White Tiger" and "White Fox".  
> Harry Potter - Hitsuki ("Arson"), Clan Head, bojutsu  
> Hermione Granger - Shiori ("Poetry"), Wordsmith, Book, Golden Third  
> Ron Weasley - Hibiki ("Echo"), Strategist, Golden Third  
> Luna Lovegood - Tsukiko ("Moon Child"), Fauna  
> Neville Longbottom - Chigusa ("Thousand Grass"), Flora  
> Ginevra Weasley - Ayane ("Color / Sound"), Eight Swords  
> Theodore Nott - Takeshi ("Military / Warrior"), Rune-Master, Silver Triad  
> Draco Malfoy - Ryuu ("Dragon"), Whip and Spear, Silver Triad  
> Blaise Zabini - Mamoru ("Protect"), Broadsword, Silver Triad


	4. The Tiger's Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Konoha Clans meet Byakko. Cue clash of the titans! . . . Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been forever since I updated, and I'm so sorry. I want to say, though, that reading some of your comments honestly brought back a lot of inspiration for me.
> 
> My excuse for my lateness is my horrible health and sleeping pattern. I have severe chronic insomnia. By that, I mean I just don't sleep. I get knocked out. Either through medication or through exhausting my body so much that I crash. Lately, I've been bouncing between staying up for 30 hours and crashing and sleeping during the day for a few hours being staying up for another 20. The reason for my agitated sleep issues is because I've been diagnosed with an enlarged liver, and I've been taken off all my medications. Which, of course, included the wonderful drugs that knocked me out at night. I'm also off all my pain meds and allergy pills. I have a disorder that causes chronic joint pain and another that causes chronic nerve pain, so I am understandably, in quite a bit of pain lately.
> 
> As I said, it's just an excuse. I've had ideas for this for a while now, but it hasn't flowed in text for a while. I don't intend to abandon any of my stories, ever, but that doesn't mean that my update schedule can ever be called reliable.
> 
> Because I'm so late, I wanted to pose a little reward for you all. See below for details.

Hitsuki sat beautifully in seiza and behind him stood Shiori and HIbiki to either side, their expressions all frozen in tight-lipped smiles. “You meant to say you wish to test my men?” Hitsuki asked, his tone nonchalant. His poisonous green stare bore holes into Shimura Danzo. While he had expected having to prove his clan’s worth, he hadn’t expected such a vicious snake to hide amongst the trees.

“Yes.” The Shimura clan head declared it evenly, his expression unwavering.

“I see,” Hitsuki replied just as casually, “Shiori?”

“Hai, Hitsuki-sama,” the woman at his shoulder stepped forward with her book splayed out across her hands. She bowed graciously and held it up for him to read, though he didn’t even glance towards her. “According to the grading scale employed by the hidden villages, and our encounters with missing-nin thus far, all of our clansmen quality as tokubetsu jonin at the least.”

Hitsuki tilted his head to the side, his hair swaying languidly with the motion, and his gaze swept over the council hall. He studied the expressions of his soon-to-be fellow clan heads and finally rested on Shimura again. “I have no objections.”

The statement Shiori made had silenced the hall, none dared to even breathe, but Hitsuki’s declaration broke that silence with a sudden intake of air. An entire clan, regardless of its size, being tokubetsu jonin ranked? It was absurd, unheard of.

Sarutobi watched the goings-on without a bat of an eyelash. He needed no test to understand the truth behind Shiori’s statement. _“At the least,”_ she had said. He wasn’t going to be the one to let it be known they were probably all S-ranked. Every single one of them. The Byakko clan was truly demonic.

The Professor turned Hokage stood and all attention was given to him. “The situation is a bit unorthodox, but since the Byakko have announced their willingness, I propose a battle of wits. Byakko versus the clans of Konoha. Each clan will be allotted one representative to pose a one-on-one challenge. Say, in three days?”

Hitsuki waved his hand in acquiesce and Shiori returned to her place next to her husband. Then he turned his Yamato Nadeshiko smile on the rest of them. “Anyone of chuunin rank or higher are welcome to challenge my men on that date.”

He extended his hands and rested them in Shiori and Hibiki’s waiting ones. They assisted him to his feet and he turned slightly, his profile elegant and imposing. “Please excuse my clan’s impoliteness. We shall seclude ourselves for three days to meditate.”

With his brother in all but blood on one side and his best friend on the other, Byakko Hitsuki swept out of the council hall and left the Hokage to the chaos of his subordinates.

* * *

Three days later, every available and able-bodied shinobi in Konoha was gathered at the testing site. Most were hidden though, and only the clan heads and their select entourages were visibly present.

In contrast, Byakko Hitsuki sat across from all the others with all eight of his clan members behind him, their armor and demeanor impeccable. They all donned their facial coverings and the tigers were already swarming at their feet, clouding the ground in a whiteish mist.

“Today,” Sarutobi stood to announce without raising his voice, but the clearing was unnaturally silent and all could hear him, “the rules are simple. Anyone of chuunin rank or higher is allowed one challenge. The Clans are limited further to one representative each. Each challenge will end at first surrender, or if one party becomes incapable of continuing. This is a battle amongst friends, so intent to kill is an immediate disqualification and forfeit.”

He emptied his pipe of its built-up ashes and sat once more, “Then, let the first match begin.”

The words had barely left his mouth when the Inuzuka clan head strode forward, sharp teeth glistening in a smile. “Representing the Inuzuka, Tokubetsu Jonin and Clan Head, Inuzuka Tsume, present.”

Hitsuki cast a glance at her, studying both her and the dog at her side, then tilted his head slightly to look at his clansmen. He raised a hand and beckoned with a finger to no one in particular.

The blond male stepped forward, swinging the spear from his back in a striking sweep of his arms. “Representing the Byakko in the Byakko versus Konoha, Byakko Ryuu, present.” His scarf muffled the words only slightly and its sweeping tails drifted after him illusively. The tiger at his feet rose from its leisure position and shook itself, but Hitsuki raising his hand had the tiger plopping back on the ground.

The choice was unusual, Inoichi thought. The Inuzuka clan was probably the least suited to being shinobi out of all the clans. They cared little for stealth or strategy. Almost always, they relied on brute strength to get by. Pitting them against Ryuu, who was almost the picture of composure, was odd.

Inoichi leaned forward, suddenly curious about the reasoning Hitsuki had for this fight. There was something about the Byakko that they still did not understand, and this would potentially put forth some answers to his many questions.

On the field, the two combatants bowed their heads in acknowledgement of each other and stepped back to drop into ready poses.

Unsurprising to all who watched, Tsume and her large ninken made the first move. With a sudden burst of speed, she kicked for Ryuu’s legs and punched at his jaw with the other arm.

Both struck air, and Kuromaru lunged for the man’s thighs, teeth bared.

Having lunged back at her attack, Ryuu used the staff of his spear to block the dog’s bite, catching the canine right between the teeth. Spinning the spear into a blur around his wrist, he dove under another of Tsume’s punches and used the palm of his other hand to strike her chest.

Tsume had appeared to dodge it, throwing herself to the side to miss it, but the air pressure behind the thrust still had her clothes torn roughly. She caught herself in a skid on her hands, leaping forward again, sharp eyes watching his every move.

Kuromaru had backed away after the first block, but he was on Ryuu’s other side.

The spear was impractical in a close-range fight, so Ryuu swung it onto his back, falling into a strangely deep-seated stance. He redirected Tsume’s punch with his left wrist guard and blocked her kick with the right. He hooked a leg behind hers and bodily threw her into the way of her ninken’s attack.

The dog wasn’t alarmed in the slightest and only attacked around her, his claws similarly blocked by Ryuu’s legs.

Tired of the dodging game, Tsume dug her toes into the ground and bolted forward at speeds almost too fast to see.

Her fist was met with one of Ryuu’s, a sudden stillness interrupting the flow of their fight. The force behind both their punches caused the air to ripple outward, suddenly surging pressure up both their bodies until miniscule cuts opened on both their arms.

To match the Inuzuka in brute strength, just how strong was Ryuu? The blond certainly wasn’t the most built out of his clan members. Inoichi wasn’t sure if he could really consider this a fight. There wasn’t a single wasted move on Ryuu’s part, and his counters were simple but devastating. There wasn’t even half of an opening for Tsume to exploit, and they were only seconds into the fight and already at a standstill.

“You’re not so shitty, brat,” Tsume said, spitting blood. She shifted into another of the Inuzuka’s stances and watched him closely, “But that’s not all you got.”

Ryuu quirked a brow but said nothing. He rolled his neck with a crack and shifted weight from one foot to the other, silver eyes going from the woman to the dog and back again. Curling his fingers, claws dropped on each and he finally said, “Three strikes.”

The air rung with confusion, but Ryuu was already on the offensive. He dropped a kick on her head but it was dodged, the force of his foot striking the ground creating a sizeable crater. His eyes were practically alight as he ducked under another of her swipes, hand closing around her forearm to drag her forward.

He clipped her jaw with his elbow and was on the move once more, Kuromaru’s teeth barely missing his shin. Sweeping his leg under the canine, he thrust up with his foot, forcing the dog up into the air.

Somehow, he had the dog by the throat in one hand and he caught Tsume around the neck with the other, forcing the both onto the ground on their backs.

That last move was too fast for Inoichi to catch, but he easily caught the look of rage on Tsume’s face when she realized her position. She struggled not to growl in fury and forced herself to go limp, the surrender obvious.

Ryuu let them both go in an instant, suddenly standing in front of his clansmen as if the last five minutes hadn’t occurred at all.

The Inuzuka clan head was displeased, but she could accept her defeat nonetheless. Neither of them had been truly serious, and she had known how her fight was going to end from the beginning. Just because they didn’t like strategy didn’t mean the Inuzuka didn’t understand politics. The Byakko couldn’t afford to lose here, so she took the hit to her pride with a laugh.

Now though, her interest in the Byakko was truly piqued. By the time Ryuu had disengaged his spear, he had gauged her speed and her strength, shifting his to match. That was the only explanation she could think of, especially since he had not touched the whip.

She met the blond’s gaze and nodded once. She smiled at his returned nod and went back to her seat. “The Inuzuka are satisfied.”

Inoichi had the sudden urge to pick Tsume’s brain. He made a note to have a talk with her later. While it was true that there were some things only observation could recognize, there were things only those who actively fought could notice too.

Sarutobi smiled around the end of his pipe. Everyone always said the Inuzuka were unintelligent mutts, but there was no one else he would have used to test this new clan. Their feral instinct would pick out the bad apples in a blink.

“Inuzuka Tsume versus Byakko Ryuu in the Konoha versus Byakko has concluded. Next?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Byakko Clan  
> Byakko ("White Tiger / White Fox") - By now you've probably noticed why they're called White Tiger, but can anyone guess what the "Fox" bit might be? Don't forget: names have power, ladies and gents.
> 
> Hitsuki ("Arson") - Harry Potter: Clan Head, uses bojutsu, pregnant with twins  
> Shiori ("Poetry") - Hermione Granger: Golden Third, Wordsmith, wields a book  
> Hibiki ("Echo") - Ron Weasley: Golden Third, Strategist  
> Ayane ("Color / Sound") - Ginevra Weasley, wields eight swords  
> Tsukiko ("Moon Child") - Luna Lovegood, Fauna specialist, animal magnet  
> Chigusa ("Thousand Grass") - Neville Longbottom, Flora specialist, plant magnet?  
> Takeshi ("Military / Warrior") - Theodore Nott: Silver Triad, Rune-Master, wields paper  
> Ryuu ("Dragon") - Draco Malfoy: Silver Third, Offensive, wields a whip and spear, skilled in a disarming combat style  
> Mamoru ("Protect") - Blaise Zabini: Silver Third, Defensive, wields a broadsword
> 
> I'm really tempted to make a character sheet type entry somewhere for these guys, so I don't forget all the information I have on them.
> 
> This chapter was short, but I wanted to get something out to you guys while I had the ideas fresh. Here's my reward:
> 
> I'm not intending to include all the fights, or their many possible combinations, in this story. That would clutter the arc I have planned too much. There will only be three more fights in the next chapter, but I'll let you guys help decide which ones. Throw me an opponent (anyone from Konoha that would be reasonably chuunin or higher roughly eight years before canon starts), who you want to pair them against (based on the Byakko's temperament and weapon choice, maybe?), and why!
> 
> The most requested and/or best-reasoned fights will be included next. The ones that don't make it in the chapter will instead get pushed into a series of one-shots I have planned to accompany The Tiger Sleeps.


End file.
